Indian Point nuclear plant to close by 2021 despite Gov. Cuomo saying no deal: AP source

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BUCHANAN, N.Y. — The Indian Point nuclear plant in Westchester County will close by 2021 despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo's initial statement, a source told the Associated Press Friday.

Cuomo's office said earlier Friday that "no agreement" had been reach to close the nuclear plant despite reports that it would close its two units by 2021.

"There is no agreement," a spokesman for Cuomo's office said. "Governor Cuomo has been working on a possible agreement for 15 years and until it's done, it's not done. Close only counts for horseshoes, not for nuclear plants."

However, a person familiar with the agreement but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed the agreement on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Friday.

Under the arrangement owner Entergy will shutter both reactors at the Westchester County plant by April 2021.

The plant has been at the center of potential disasters over recent years and Cuomo has repeatedly called for its shutdown, saying it poses an environmental threat to the Hudson River and a threat to New Yorkers.

"Indian Point is antiquated and does not belong on the Hudson River in close proximity to New York City, where it poses a threat not only to the coastal resources and uses of the river, but to millions of New Yorkers living and working in the surrounding community," Gov. Cuomo said in November.

Inspectors found hundreds of faulty bolts within the reactor at the Indian Point Unit 2 Plant in March. There was also a 600 gallon oil spill in 2016. Only a small portion of the spill reached the discharge canal.

Entergy, the operator of Indian Point, declined to comment.

The license for Indian Point's Unit 2 expired in 2013, but can operate as long as the relicensing process continues under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Unit 3's license expired in 2015, but it remains in operation while the relicensing application is pending. Unit 1 was permanently closed in 1974.

Entergy has applied for a 20-year license renewal for Units 2 and 3.

Indian Point is a key source of energy for the New York area. It has a generating capacity of 2,000 megawatts of clean electricity, according to Entergy. It provides power to about 2 million homes along with businesses and municipal systems.